In a special panel for the 40th anniversary of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, journalist and 78er Julie McCrossin takes a look at LGBTQI activism in Australia from radical liberation and protest in the 70s to the fights we’re fighting today. Julie will be joined in conversation by a number of activists sharing their stories and photos, talking about the issues that matter the most to them and the ways in which they’re changing and have already changed the political landscape of Australia.

Join us to celebrate how far we’ve come from 1978, and to ask: how can we carry the mantle of fighting for social justice to make the world a better place for future generations? Through bringing together diverse activist voices, Julie will explore issues from gender diversity, to winning marriage equality, and what it means to be a LGBTQI Muslim.

MODERATOR

Julie McCrossin

Julie McCrossin is a broadcaster and journalist who writes for the NSW Law Society Journal. Julie’s media career spans over 20 years, including as a presenter on ABC Radio National, the media quiz show Good News Week with Network Ten and ABC TV and multiple TV broadcasts for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Julie joined Gay Liberation in 1974 and was part of the events of 1978. Julie was a long-term advocate for marriage equality. After being diagnosed with throat cancer in 2013, she married her partner, Melissa Gibson in Manhattan in the presence of their two adult children, Luke and Amelia. Julie has qualifications in the arts, education and law. She is an Ambassador for Beyond Five, Targeting Cancer and TROG Cancer Research.

PANELISTS

Betty Hounslow

Betty Hounslow has been part of the community sector for almost 40 years – in small local services, national and state peak bodies and international development agencies. In the 70s, Betty became active in the feminist and anti-racism movements and the Gay Solidarity Group. During the 1980s, while working in community legal centres, Betty helped drive a campaign that won recognition of lesbian and gay relationships in Australia’s immigration system. After 7 years as Executive Director of ACOSS and a decade as Deputy Director of The Fred Hollows Foundation, Betty left the paid workforce in 2014 but is still involved in the sector through board memberships of First Mardi Gras, the Asylum Seekers Centre and Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA.

Teddy Cook

Teddy Cook is a health promotion specialist, country town romancer, community advocate, annoyer, speaker, educator and is also relentlessly trans. Teddy has worked at ACON since April 2012, and is now the Regional Outreach Development Manager, working with communities across country NSW including from Wollongong to Wilcannia to Wagga, Wodonga and woop woop, covering HIV prevention and support, and LGBTI health priorities. Teddy has participated on a number of NGO boards, is an affiliate member of ASHM, a founding member and current Co-Chair of PASH.tm and head dude of the GRUNT Campaign.

Sally Rugg

Sally Rugg lead GetUp’s campaign for marriage equality for five years, eventually to victory. Sally’s work played a crucial role in driving the Liberal party to an emergency party room meeting in 2015 to deal with the crescendo of public pressure, in parliament’s rejection of plebiscite legislation in 2016, and in the thumping Yes victory in the 2017 postal survey.

Sally is a regular media spokesperson for LGBTIQ issues, women’s issues and general politics appearing on Sky News, ABC Breakfast, The Project, A Current Affair and The Feed and Triple J’s Hack. Sally is a respected written commentator and is published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, Junkee, Vice.

In 2017, Sally was named among Harper’s Bazaar’s 5 Women of The Year, by Cosmopolitan magazine as one of Australia’s Most Influential LGBTIQ people, ranked first in Mamamia’s Most Powerful LGBTIQ Women list, by Amnesty International’s Top 15 Women Championing Human Rights In Australia and was profiled in Rolling Stone. Sally was awarded the Young Achiever Award at the 2016 Honour Awards, and is currently nominated for Hero Of The Year for the 2018 Australian LGBTI Awards.

Imam Nur Warsame

Imam Nur Warsame is an Imam based in Melbourne. Nur obtained his religious qualifications in Egypt and memorized the Quran in South Africa, and has been active as an Imam in Australia since 2000. Nur is also the founder of Marhaba Inc. an organization that focuses on the welfare of LGBTIQ+ Muslims, as well as a facilitator of workshops and talks to LGBT groups nationally and internationally.

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, who are the traditional owners of the land on which our celebrations are held on. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.